TOP POSTS THIS WEEK 5/16/20 #REDFORED #tbats

by Mike Simpson / 1h

Small Things: Secretary DeVos, Twitter and Teachers Vs. Charters For quite a while, National Charter School Self-Promotion Week was scheduled for the first week in may-- the same week that the PTA had, for decades, scheduled Teacher Appreciation Week. Last year somebody finally decided that maybe that wasn't the greatest idea and moved Charter Week to the second week in May. So we're just wrappi

by Mike Simpson / 1h

Betsy DeVos Uses the Coronavirus Pandemic to Push Private and Religious School Vouchers | Eclectablog Betsy DeVos Uses the Coronavirus Pandemic to Push Private and Religious School Vouchers Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has pulled a lot of shady stuff in her time in President Trump’s Cabinet. But her latest action may take the cake for brazen, underhanded political malfeasance. Education Sec

by Mike Simpson / 1h

Fearing for students, educators demand Senate act to protect public schools By Amanda Litvinov Education advocates have succeeded in urging federal legislators in the U.S. House of Representatives to take the first step in protecting public education from the financial turmoil wrought by the coronavirus pandemic. Today, the U.S. House passed the HEROES Act (Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus E

by Mike Simpson / 1h

RE-OPENING SCHOOLS: EXPERT TASK FORCE (ROSE) Both the argument and the process for re-opening schools are multi-faceted and they cross a range of development stages . Childhood trauma damage looms in all directions. Historic d ecisions should be based on science and data, addressing many complex and competing risks. Stunningly, to-date, the lack of a coordinated national response to Covid-19 has

by Mike Simpson / 1h

The Class Divide: Remote Learning at 2 Schools, Private and Public (Dana Goldstein) Dana Goldstein is a New York Times journalist who writes about how education policies impact families, students and teachers across the country. She wrote “The Teacher Wars: A History of America’s Most Embattled Profession.” This article appeared May 10, 2020 For Rachel Warach’s class, the 133rd morning of first

by Mike Simpson / 1h

Betsy DeVos directs $500,000 from coronavirus relief to private college — confused by some with cult Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has directed millions in federal coronavirus relief funds earmarked by Congress for low-income students to wealthy private and religious schools, including nearly half a million dollars to an institute with a website devoted to proving it is not a cult. This art

by Mike Simpson / 1h

Here’s the limited guidance Trump allowed the CDC to give to schools and child-care centers about safely reopening Here is the guidance that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just released on how schools and child-care programs can safely reopen during the coronavirus pandemic. It’s not what the CDC had intended to issue, according to a report by The Washington Post , but it’s what

by Mike Simpson / 1h

How to Watch Barack Obama’s Commencement Speeches This Weekend With high schools and colleges around the country closed because of the coronavirus, millions of high school and college seniors have been denied their commencement ceremonies, long a cherished ritual signaling the beginning of a new chapter of life. But Barack Obama is among the prominent figures who have stepped in to fill that voi

by Mike Simpson / 1h

The College Board COVID-Era AP Exam: Another Botch Job The College Board is offering its Advanced Placement (AP) tests in an abbreviated, roughly-45-minute formats that students complete remotely and submit according to the College Board’s schedule. The first round of testing began May 11, 2020. In keeping with the College Board’s established history of ineptness as a high-stakes testing entity

by Mike Simpson / 4h

CARES Act ESSER Fund Allocations The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides funding to LEAs through Section 18003 of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund, to address the impact of COVID-19 on elementary and secondary schools. Congress set aside approximately $13.2 billion of the $30.75 billion allotted to the Education Stabilization Fund

by Mike Simpson / 4h

How Dr. Perelman Helped Save Australia (Note: If you're not in the mood to read the whole piece, skip down to the bold quote at the end -- it'll be worth it.) Longtime readers know that Les Perelman is one of my heroes. Retired in 2012 from teaching and administration at MIT, he has continued his work in the world of education, most notably repeatedly poking holes in the balonified field that is

by Mike Simpson / 4h

A FUNDAMENTAL REDESIGN OF OUR SCHOOLS I climbed the hill leading up to one of my favorite coffee shops in Seattle this morning to enjoy a coffee while taking in a phenomenal view of the city on this beautiful day. As I took a seat on a bench, I noticed there was a woman on a conference call sitting on the bench next to me. She'd put the conference call on speaker, so I could hear everything bein

by Mike Simpson / 4h

Disaster Capitalism Is Coming for Public Education While educators across the country struggle to support and teach their students during distance learning, state and federal legislators are preparing to slash public education budgets. Defending public education during the coronavirus will require solidarity across the public sector. Public education has been under attack for decades, as opponen

by Mike Simpson / 4h

AP Snafus / Why is the College Board in our Schools? In the midst of this pandemic it became clear that the College Board, a private company, could not use its favorite space for AP examinations: public schools across the country. Why does the AP like using public school space, paid for by local governments, and not its own private space? Let’s start by asking, what does the College Board pay sc

by Mike Simpson / 4h

NewBlackMan (in Exile) MAY 14 Black Images, Black Histories | Rhea Combs: New Black Aesthetics by Mark Anthony Neal / 1d 'The From Slavery to Freedom Lab presented a two-day conference to explore iconic images and popular constructions of Blackness in culture. Rhea L. Combs is curator at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History & Culture.' -- Duke Franklin Humani

by Mike Simpson / 4h

Education Research Report THIS WEEK Education Research Report MAY 14 U.S. college students: nearly one in five are uncertain about their plans for re-enrolling in the fall by Jonathan Kantrowitz / 1d A national survey administered to more than 2,000 currently enrolled U.S. college students finds that nearly one in five are uncertain about their plans for re-enrolling in the fall, or definitely ar

by Mike Simpson / 4h

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 SPECIAL CORONAVIRUS UPDATE Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 Video: “Commencement messages for graduates in an age of uncertainty” by Larry Ferlazzo / 9h Clker-Free-Vector-Images / Pixabay I wouldn’t add it to The Best Commencement Speeches ,

by Mike Simpson / 4h

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all KEEP UP/ CATCH UP WITH DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG A site to discuss better education for all Arthur Goldstein: Will Mitch McConnell Destroy Our Public Services? by dianeravitch / 9min Veteran teacher Arthur Goldstein fears that Republican Senator Mitch McConnell will use his power to destroy public services in New York and other states w

by Mike Simpson / 22h

Return To School Or Retire? Pick Your Poison by Dr. Michael Flanagan Let me begin this piece by thanking our retiring educators for their years of service in America’s public schools. Teachers are there for our students on good days and bad days. Through their successes and failures, their high points and low points. The day-to-day interactions and emotional connections we make with our students

by Mike Simpson / 1d

DeVos Funnels Coronavirus Relief Funds to Favored Private and Religious Schools Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, us ing discretion written into the coronavirus stabilization law, is using millions of dollars to pursue long-sought policy goals that Congress has blocked. WASHINGTON — Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is using the $2 trillion coronavirus stabilization law to throw a lifeline to educa

by Mike Simpson / 1d

When Can Kids Go Back to Class? The economy can’t fully reopen until schools do. This article is part of the Debatable newsletter. You can sign up here to receive it Tuesdays and Thursdays. If you’re a parent stuck at home with young children — or, hypothetically speaking, if you’re a childless millennial stuck in a dictionary-size Brooklyn apartment below another dictionary-size Brooklyn apartm

by Mike Simpson / 1d

Teachers Union Counters Trump Lies With Coronavirus Road Map The president of the American Federation of Teachers on Wednesday referred to as out the Trump White House’s chaotic response to the coronavirus pandemic ― and its complicated messaging ― because the union laid out its personal highway map for safely reopening the nation’s colleges. “Our blueprint serves as a stark contrast to the conf

by Mike Simpson / 1d

A special education teacher explains why virtual learning is so hard on her students Six million American children need special education. Are they falling through the cracks during the pandemic? It isn’t easy setting up a virtual classroom on the fly. As the coronavirus pandemic grinds the nation’s education system to a halt, teachers have navigated computer shortages, spotty internet access, a

by Mike Simpson / 1d

NEA Hosts Tele-Town Hall to Mobilize Support for Coronavirus Relief Bill The message of NEA’s “We Rise Together” campaign, a national call to demand Congress pass the HEROES Act to help stabilize education funding, couldn’t be any clearer: “If we don’t do something, it’s going to get worse,” cautioned NEA President Lily Eskelsen García, during a national tele-town hall with Sen. Kamala Harris (D

by Mike Simpson / 1d

John Thompson on Oklahoma’s Response to the Pandemic John Thompson, historian and retired teacher, has posted here many times about education and politics in his home state of Oklahoma. He writes today about the politics of the pandemic: When David Holt was elected mayor of Oklahoma City, I shared some of the concerns of fellow educators. I worried that the former Republican state senator would

by Mike Simpson / 1d

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 SPECIAL CORONAVIRUS UPDATE Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 New MSNBC Video: “Why It’s So Difficult To Safely Reopen Schools In The Era Of COVID-19” by Larry Ferlazzo / 1h PIRO4D / Pixabay I’m adding this new video to THE BEST POSTS PREDICTIN

by Mike Simpson / 1d

Injustice: The Disparate Impact of EdChoice Vouchers Across Ohio School Districts Ohio Governor Mike DeWine just announced large, recession-driven cuts in statewide funding for public education at the same time more and more students in 140 of Ohio’s 610 school districts will be carrying EdChoice vouchers out of their local school district budgets to pay for private school tuition. Ohio’s EdChoi

by Mike Simpson / 1d

State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Issues Statement in Response to Governor Newsom's Updated Budget Proposal SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond today issued the following statement in response to Governor Gavin Newsom’s revised budget for the fiscal year 2020–21: “The COVID-19 crisis has had a disastrous impact on the state’s economy, and the updated projections

by Mike Simpson / 1d

Diane Ravitch in Conversation with Randi Weingarten - Network For Public Education Diane Ravitch in Conversation with Randi Weingarten In this video conference NPE President Diane Ravitch’s guest was AFT President Randi Weingarten. Watch and listen to a wide ranging conversation between Diane and Randi, including how to safely reopen school buildings. Diane Ravitch in Conversation with Randi Wein

by Mike Simpson / 1d

Fordham Advises Conservative Board Members In Parallel Universe It's a curious little piece in the Fordham Institute's blog, this " Conservative Agenda for School Board Members. " The co-authors are Michael Petrilli and Chester Finn, the current and former head honchos of the right-leaning thinky tank (though I will say-- and I'm just guessing here--the level of pearl-clutching in this piece sou

by Mike Simpson / 1d

NEA President: Our Students Must Not Pay The Price For This Crisis Two months after the coronavirus pandemic forced schools across the country to close their doors, educators and students remain hunkered down in their homes teaching and learning remotely. Everybody is doing the best they can, but the challenges around distance learning are formidable – and will likely remain so until school re-o

by Mike Simpson / 1d

Reckless reopening and universal guaranteed income UAW President Walter Reuther (shaking hands at right) presided at the opening of the new Local 879 Union Hall in 1955 Political Economy lesson for these times: The story goes that Henry Ford II once boasted to UAW leader Walter Reuther that he could build cars without workers. “Walter, how are you going to get those robots to pay your union dues

by Mike Simpson / 1d

Nominations Now Open for the 2020 Black Education Matters Student Activist Award! Starting Thursday, May 14 th through June 12 th , 2020, nominations will be accepted for the Black Education Matters Student Activist award ! I am writing this letter to encourage educators, parents, students, and community organizers to nominate a deserving student for the award today! Some of the 2018 Black Educa

by Mike Simpson / 1d

| A clearinghouse for information on class size & the proven benefits of smaller classes Why schools should not be reopened next year without reducing class size The need to reduce class size next fall to improve health and safety and strengthen academic and emotional support and how this could be achieved through budget savings Download the PDF version here . Shorter version in the Gotham Gazet

by Mike Simpson / 1d

I Deserve an “A” For Flunking My Kids’ COVID-19 Distance Learning I DESERVE AN ‘A’ FOR FLUNKING MY KIDS’ DISTANCE LEARNING Yes, I’m Doing a Poor Job—But Parents Have Become the Scapegoats for a Failing System I’m proudly doing my duty as a California parent. I’m flunking distance learning . Distance learning is the term for our new COVID 19-era educational regime, which forces teachers and studen

by Mike Simpson / 1d

Trump on kids getting covid-19 in school: ‘You can be driving to school and some bad things can happen, too’ President Trump met Wednesday with two governors in the White House to talk about the reopening of the country during the covid-19 pandemic and took the opportunity to contradict the country’s most esteemed public health official, Anthony S. Fauci, who has warned against moving too fast t

by Mike Simpson / 1d

‘Education Reimagined’ not a hit with schools Union officials and school district administrators are pushing back against Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s announcement of a partnership between the state and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to restructure New York’s education system in the wake of COVID-19. NYSUT President Andy Pallotta stated that remote learning “will never replace the important person

by Mike Simpson / 1d

Who Would Allow Wages to Be Garnished During a Pandemic? Certainly Not Betsy DeVos In case you were wondering what Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is up to these days, let me give you the short of it: she’s still playing with people’s money. She’s been up to it for years, of course—multiple outlets have reported on her dubious connections with loan servicing giants. In late 2019, the Departme

by Mike Simpson / 1d

CREDO’s New Study Biased against Public Schools By Thomas Ultican 5/14/2020 The Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) started releasing the results of its new Cities Study Project in mid-2019. It is not a coincidence that the cities chosen for the study have long been targeted for public school privatization. The ten cities selected are: Indianapolis; Baton Rouge; Camden; Kansas City

by Mike Simpson / 1d

Eva Moskowitz and Success Academy found guilty of violating NY State student privacy Law For immediate release: May 14, 2020 More information: Fatima Geidi, fatimageidi@gmail.com ; (646) 281-0449 Leonie Haimson, leoniehaimson@gmail.com ; 917-435-9329 Eva Moskowitz and Success Academy found guilty of violating NY State student privacy Law The Chief Privacy Officer of the NY State Education Depart

by Mike Simpson / 1d

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 SPECIAL CORONAVIRUS UPDATE Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 Ed Tech Digest by Larry Ferlazzo / 3h Eight years ago, in another somewhat futile attempt to reduce the backlog of resources I want to share, I began this occasional “” post where I

by Mike Simpson / 2d

With School Buildings Closed, Children's Mental Health Is Suffering Nightmares. Tantrums. Regressions. Grief. Violent outbursts. Exaggerated fear of strangers. Even suicidal thoughts. In response to a call on social media, parents across the country shared with NPR that the mental health of their young children appears to be suffering as the weeks of lockdown drag on. Most U.S. states have cance

by Mike Simpson / 2d

Reform as Conserving What Is Good in Schooling (David Tyack) David Tyack was professor of education and history in the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University between 1969-2000. He died in 2016. Author of scores of books and articles, his One Best System (1974) has become a classic history of urban schooling. He and Larry Cuban wrote Tinkering toward Utopia (1995). This commentary ap

by Mike Simpson / 2d

We're all in this together. Aren't we? Between 40-60 million pushed into poverty in the Corona era. "We are all in this together. We must put politics aside, stop the partisanship, and unify together as one nation and one family." -- Donald Trump, Address to the Nation, 3/11/20 This old saw may turn out to be the biggest lie ever told. Whether or not you believe it may well depend on which side

by Mike Simpson / 2d

| A clearinghouse for information on class size & the proven benefits of smaller classes Please help us protect our students rather than the bank accounts of billionaires! Dear Friends– 1. I had a piece in the Gotham Gazette yesterday that explains how schools should not reopen next fall without a plan to reduce class size, to provide both the social distancing necessary for health and safety an

by Mike Simpson / 2d

The Enigmatic Governor of New York State: Presidential Pretender or a Model Governor for the Nation? In San Francisco, in the summer of 1984 at the Democratic National Convention, Mario Cuomo, the governor of New York State delivered an iconic speech , a revival of the progressive spirit of the FDR New Deal years, A shining city is perhaps all the President [Reagan] sees from the portico of the

by Mike Simpson / 2d

Biden's Education Unity Task Force Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders have announced a half-dozen unity task force thingies, one of which will be focused on education , more or less. Folks are reacting with varying degrees of freaking out on the social medias. I'm going to recommend that you take a deep breath. Here are some things to consider. Concerns Alejandro Adler is nobody to be excited about. H

by Mike Simpson / 3d

How Can I Keep from Singing? The second wave of school change is now bearing down on teachers, students, and parents. You remember March, right? When Mommy-needs-vodka types were posting hilarious blogs thanking teachers and telling them to go right ahead and teach in their jammies? Because holy cow, teachers were the light of the world. There were those teacher car parades, and funny Zoom memes

by Mike Simpson / 3d

2020 Medley #10: Thoughts on Reimagining Public Schools Thoughts on Reimagining Public Schools GOV. CUOMO CALLS ON BILLIONAIRES Screen New Deal: Under Cover of Mass Death, Andrew Cuomo Calls in the Billionaires to Build a High-Tech Dystopia When it’s time to fix society’s problems — with established ideas or innovations — politicians call on billionaires even if they have no training or experien

by Mike Simpson / 3d

Leonie Haimson: Yes, NYC Can Pay for Smaller Classes: Here Is How Leonie Haimson is a tireless advocate for small class size. At the drop of a hat, she will recite the research showing the value of small classes, especially for the neediest children. She just published an article showing how New York City can afford to reduce class sizes. She identifies the specific ways that the city can shift

by Mike Simpson / 3d

"The reports of the death of higher education are greatly exaggerated." | Eclectablog “The reports of the death of higher education are greatly exaggerated.” A photograph of the Beaumont Tower located on the Michigan State University campus in East Lansing, Michigan. A recent article in New York Magazine predicting the demise of higher education is causing a great deal of anxiety in the professor

by Mike Simpson / 3d

Celebrating Our Heroes As COVID-19 brought our nation—and the world— to a screeching halt, our communities needed educators more than ever. Even from a social distance, NEA members found creative, inspiring, and selfless ways to educate, feed, and tend to the well-being of their students and colleagues. Your stories have made us smile and moved us to tears. And while just a very few of those exp

by Mike Simpson / 3d

The weird things Sen. Rand Paul said about reopening schools What was Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) talking about Tuesday when he was arguing with leading public health expert Anthony S. Fauci about reopening schools during the coronavirus pandemic? Paul aggressively questioned Fauci during a hearing of the Senate Committee for Health, Education, Labor and Pensions about coronavirus-related issues. Fau

by Mike Simpson / 3d

Biden And Sanders Announce Education Unity Task Force Today, former Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden announced six Unity Task Forces to cover the issues of education, climate change, criminal justice reform, the economy, health care, and immigration . These task forces will advise the Democratic National Committee Platform and Biden himself and were put to

by Mike Simpson / 3d

NY Times Editorial: Together We Are Responsible for Equalizing Educational Opportunity Between Cities and Suburbs This week, the New York Times editorial board published a stunning analysis of unequal educational opportunity among the children of America’s metropolitan areas. The facts are not new, but the effects of the coronavirus have so exposed economic and racial inequality that someone at

by Mike Simpson / 3d

The Why Of Opening Schools Matters As Much As The When Originally posted about three weeks ago. Not much has changed; only become more so. At some point, schools are going to open again. Figuring out when will require some complicated medical and political calculus, and while lots of folks are hoping it will be just as easy as life going back to normal sometime over the summer, nobody is ready t

by Mike Simpson / 3d

Bain And Company Arrive At LAUSD While families have been scrambling to homeschool and accessorize their 20 million+ LAUSD GrabNGo meals, the District’s Superintendent and improbably employed former investment-banker , Austin Beutner, has sought guidance from his own comfort-sector, the world of corporate management consulting . Last Wednesday, May 6 2020, LAUSD announced that Bain & Company wil

by Mike Simpson / 3d

NYCDoE did not protect us in March – How can we trust them in September? In March the NYC Department of Education violated protocols by not shutting schools with COVID-19 and cleaning them. They stifled reporting. They hid what was going on. We knew that the NYC Department of Education unconscionably delayed closing schools – that was really bill de blasio. That’s not what I am writing about. Th

by Mike Simpson / 3d

One More Question….. “Dr. Merrow, I have just one more question for you. We’re pretty conservative here, pretty slow to change. If we hire you to be our School Superintendent, what’s the biggest change you would want to make in our schools?” “That’s a great question, sir ,” I replied, my brain whirling and spinning and searching for a suitable answer. His question feels as fresh today as it did

by Mike Simpson / 3d

WHAT MIGHT MLK JR. SAY TO EDUCATORS ABOUT COVID-19? This is what I think Martin Luther King Jr. might have said about the pursuit of principles of justice and inclusion by educators in our current environment. I have used his words almost verbatim with some modest embellishment. In the midst of COVID 19, the world is a different place. Our nation, our state and communities are different. It almo

by Mike Simpson / 4d

Why Johnny Can't Read, Part 4: Brain-Based Reading Disorders The 4th in a series on vulnerable readers Some children's brains have difficulty processing written words and text. Such children may have difficulty decoding words, reading fluently, and comprehending what they read. These reading difficulties are not related to level of intelligence or creativity, and indeed, these reading disorders

by Mike Simpson / 4d

Sacramento city teachers fired, program ended as district works to avoid state takeover amid pandemic Preschool teachers in the Sacramento City Unified School District were among 12 people fired last week as the district continues to address a $27 million deficit. SACRAMENTO, Calif — Tamara Toby was laid off last week. The preschool teacher in the Sacramento City Unified School District was one

by Mike Simpson / 4d

Free Internet Available To SCUSD Students SACRAMENTO – Sacramento City Unified School District, the City of Sacramento, and Comcast announced a new effort to provide Sac City Unified families with free internet access. The new initiative, called Sac City Kids Connect, provides Comcast’s Internet Essentials program to qualifying low income families with internet access, provided they live in a Co

by Mike Simpson / 4d

Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all CORONAVIRUS EDITION DID YOU MISS DIANE RAVITCH'S BLOG CATCH UP NOW Diane Ravitch's blog A site to discuss better education for all Education Law Center: States Should Reject DeVos’ Proposal to Fund Elite Private Schools by dianeravitch / 47min NEW JERSEY MUST REJECT EDUCATION SECRETARY DEVOS’ ADVICE TO GIVE EMERGENCY COVID-19 FUNDS

by Mike Simpson / 4d

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007 SPECIAL CORONAVIRUS UPDATE Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 Two Excellent Free Sites For History & Science Lesson Plans by Larry Ferlazzo / 36min A lot of sites have sprung up over the past two months offering lesson plans of varying qualitie

by Mike Simpson / 4d

NewBlackMan (in Exile) Play It Forward: Georgia Anne Muldrow On Building Worlds Through Music by Mark Anthony Neal / 2h 'In the fourth episode of Play It Forward , Ari Shapiro speaks with R&B polymath Georgia Anne Muldrow about how music has served her during the pandemic and the sprawling soul-jazz of Lakecia Benjamin .' -- All Things Considered 'She's Challenging You': Alison Saar's Sculptures

by Mike Simpson / 4d

Any Solution that Doesn't Include Our Collective Voice Will be Dangerous and Flawed A week ago, I wrote a post called Birds of a Feather Will Flock Together , in which I asserted the plain facts that if we are going to start sending preschool aged children back to their schools and child cares we cannot count on social distancing as a way to limit the risk of spreading the coronavirus. It will b

by Mike Simpson / 4d

No Schools To Open In The Fall Of course, we are not going to open schools in the fall. You know why? Because we are in the midst of a pandemic and will be in the fall also. It will be just fine to not open schools in the fall. This blog will explain that in detail in subsequent postings. But for now, let’s accept where we are. Let’s tell the Connecticut Commissioner of Education that we get it

by Mike Simpson / 4d

Private Equity's Destructive Tendencies This article ( "Why Private Equity Keeps Wrecking Retail Chains Like Fairway ") has been sitting on my desktop since late January, which is now, of course, roughly ten years in our collective past, but it's still worth a look. It's not about education, except that, given the deep and abiding love that hedge funds have for charter schools , this is absolute

by Mike Simpson / 4d

Louisiana’s Next Superintendent: Baghian, or Brumley, or Neither? Louisiana’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) expects to vote on Louisiana’s next state superintendent on May 20, 2020. However, according to a May 07, 2020 tweet by Advocate reporter, Will Sentell, none of the six candidates has the necessary 8 out of 11 BESE member votes to be elected as the next superintendent:

by Mike Simpson / 4d

Special Report: Teaching Through Trauma As the number of students with trauma increases, educators turn to approaches that focus on relationships, empathy More and more of our children and youth are coping with the impact of traumatic events in their lives — including chronic homelessness and ongoing abuse, the detention or incarceration of a family member, destructive natural disasters, and sho

by Mike Simpson / 4d

Even More Photos of Schools Reopening OK, I admit that seeing photos of how educators the world over are wrestling with the same problem of how to school children and youth in the wake of a pandemic–is, in a word, addictive for me. So here are more photos from Germany, Netherlands, and Japan of schools that just re-opened. With a virus about which much remains to be figured out and with no treat

by Mike Simpson / 4d

‘What If I Feel Unsafe?’: Support Professionals in Texas Report Back to Work Linda Estrada, a school secretary at Runn Elementary School in Donna, Texas, has been receiving texts day and night from education support professionals (ESP) across the Donna Independent School District asking about the requirement to report back to work this month. “What if I feel unsafe?” “What about my kids at home?

by Mike Simpson / 4d

Halfway Home – R emote Teaching – NYC – May 11 On March 12 we saw students in class. That was Thursday. Friday was a special day in my school – we still saw students, but not regular classes, and attendance was down. And then – no more. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday the next week were PD. And classes resumed, remotely, Monday March 23. That was 49 days ago. And there are only 46 days until Ju

by Mike Simpson / 5d

An Open Letter to Governor Cuomo on Education Policy from Fordham Alum Carrie Anne Tocci Dear Honorable Governor Cuomo: I have respect for the Cuomo family. My first full-time teaching job was at La Scuola D'Italia in Manhattan. Your mom visited once, and I found her to be eloquent when she spoke about the importance of education, and a one-on-one mentoring program in place in our state. Your da

by Mike Simpson / 5d

Reopening schools will be pricey and complicated, L.A. schools chief warns Although the school year in Los Angeles is set to begin in mid-August, the prospect of opening 900 campuses will rely on solutions for daunting and costly problems — including whether half a million students and their families would be tested for COVID-19, Supt. Austin Beutner said. “There has been discussion about the ne

by Mike Simpson / 5d

COVID-19 and the Latino Education Community - NEA Today COVID-19 and the Latino Education Community On May 5, the National Education Association (NEA) and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) partnered to host a virtual town hall to uplift the experiences of Latino students and educators impacted by coronavirus-related school closures nationwide, as well as share immigration updat

by Mike Simpson / 5d

In the Classroom That Zoom Built The Empire Has No Clothes D o you hear that silence? That’s the absence of footsteps echoing through our nation’s public school hallways. It’s the silence of teaching in a virtual space populated with students on mute who lack a physical presence. It’s the crushing silence of those who are now missing, who can’t attend the classroom that Zoom and Google built. Ma

by Mike Simpson / 5d

The Coronavirus Is Widening the Class Divide in Education - The New York Times The Class Divide: Remote Learning at 2 Schools, Private and Public Some private schools provide online luxury learning during the pandemic. As many public schools struggle to adjust, the nation’s educational gaps widen. For Rachel Warach’s class, the 133rd morning of first grade, numbered on a poster board behind her,

by Mike Simpson / 5d

A looming issue for schools: Teachers with health worries who can’t or won’t go back Belinda Mckinney-Childrey has spent more than 30 years as a teacher. Before the pandemic, she thought she was about three years from retirement. Coronavirus has her wondering whether to fast-track that decision. She has high blood pressure, a health condition that could put her at a higher risk for severe illnes

by Mike Simpson / 5d

AP Testing to Begin, Amid Controversies New, shorter tests will be given at the same time all over the world. Today, at noon Eastern time, Advanced Placement testing begins for the 2020 year, with the Physics C: Mechanics exam. At 4 p.m. the test will be given in government and politics, and so forth through two weeks of AP exams. In the Western part of the United States, the tests will be at th

by Mike Simpson / 5d

The True—and Inspiring—Story of “Lord of the Flies” William Golding’s novel about a group of adolescent boys who are stranded and create their own society has been a staple of English classes for many years. It is a cautionary tale about the brutality that lies within the human heart. Dutch historian Rutger Bregman was fascinated by the story but unpersuaded by its thesis. In this article in The

by Mike Simpson / 5d

Why Teachers Should Reject Results-Based Accountability We may be in the middle of a pandemic but Chester Finn is worried about the tests. He’s not alone. Education reformers like Finn who’ve dedicated the last couple of decades to test-based school accountability are nervous about the growing backlash that threatens to undo their considerable efforts. Finn, in this article , acknowledges the ma

by Mike Simpson / 5d

“How Are You Doing With Teaching in This Pandemic?” Not So Well… Courtesy of Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for American Education: Images of Teachers and Students in Action. A friend asked me how I was doing during this pandemic, and I thought I’d share my perspective as a teacher who has struggled to find my footing in our new reality… How am I doing, you ask? To be honest, not well. I’ve

by Mike Simpson / 5d

Message to Cuomo: Remote Learning Is a Stopgap, Not a Solution The Syracuse, New York, journal has sound advice for Andrew Cuomo : Remote Learning is a stopgap. Parents and students want real teachers and real schools. Stop musing about “reimagining” education. Your musings are unsound. Listen to parents and teachers. Let the Board of Regents and the New York State Education Fepartnent do their

by Mike Simpson / 5d

Cuomo Taps Bill Gates as NY’s New Education Consultant. Sadly, the Times Are Not a Changing Bill Gates seems to have become this spring’s go-to gazillionaire. Over the years his foundation has undertaken to fund medical work in Africa and public school policy and governance experiments across the United States. And so… soon after the coronavirus pandemic reached American shores, Judy Woodruff ha

by Mike Simpson / 6d

Mothers Day Edition We got some take-out brunch at our house, so my wife is having what appears to be a delicious quiche (I'm not a good judge of egg-based foods) and we're going to try to ignore the return of winter. In the meantime, here's some reading for you. It's a pretty rich week-- enjoy. Appeals Court Decision Guarantees Basic Literacy as a Right Jan Resseger looks at the recent court de

by Mike Simpson / 6d

The School Year Really Ended in March (Susan Dynarski) Susan Dynarski is a professor of education, public policy and economics at the University of Michigan. This article appeared in the New York Times May 10, 2020. School-age children across America are struggling to learn under challenging conditions. Some, no doubt, have made real progress. But it’s time to admit that, for the vast majority o

by Mike Simpson / 6d

Ask Moms How to Reimagine Public Schools! I want my public schools to help children discover their unique gifts and talents so they may enter the world with confidence and purpose. ~Lyn Franklin Hoyt, Mom and Public School Advocate The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and other power brokers, plan to remake public schools. The timing is right to ask the mothers of America, of which I am one, h

by Mike Simpson / 6d

What We Lose When We Go From the Classroom to Zoom Like other utopian dreams, the fiction of equality has its value . When life was normal, my students and I gathered in classrooms. My favorites are the small intimate ones where we face each other around a seminar table and conversation flows easily. Midsize classes meet in a square room with windows along one side. Around this time of year it b

by Mike Simpson / 6d

Backpack Full of Misdirection Jeanne Allen called it a backpack full of cash, strapped to the back of each student, who would carry it from school to school like a young mule. It's the child's money. It's the family's money. The money should follow the child. It has been the reformster mantra for years, and it is enjoying a comeback as we discuss very particular dollars, i.e. the stimulus dollar

by Mike Simpson / 6d

EdAction in Congress May 10, 2020 DeVos uses COVID-19 to push failed privatization agenda Betsy DeVos isn’t focused on the looming crisis in education funding, educators’ need for personal protective equipment (PPE), or students’ need for internet access so they can do schoolwork at home. Instead, she’s using the coronavirus crisis to push her failed privatization agenda with schemes like “micro

by Mike Simpson / 6d

Andrew Cuomo's Remote Control Andrew Cuomo, in his zeal to approach this crisis in the very worst way possible, has enlisted the assistance of Bill Gates, I'm sure you remember Bill Gates. He's the man behind value-added rating, and the push to enable it for teachers. There is a whole lot of potential here. For what, I dread to even imagine (let alone "reimagine"). You may be reminded of Bill Ga

by Mike Simpson / 6d

New York Post: Secret Deal Between NYC Mayor De Blasio and Orthodox Jewish Leaders to Stall Report about Investigation of Yeshivas Susan Edelman, investigative reporter on education issues, reports on emails showing that New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio made a deal with Orthodox Jewish leaders—a powerful voting bloc in the city and state politics—to stall an investigation of shoddy yeshivas in

by Mike Simpson / 6d

Does Reimagining Education Mean Using Technology In Place of Adequate Funding? or, Further Integrating Technology into Classroom Practice? This has been an incredibly turbulent week in the world of education. On Monday the Board of Regents held a totally online meeting (Watch video here ) and addressed the myriad remote learning issues facing education in the state. On Tuesday the governor mused

by Mike Simpson / 6d

The Internet is NOT the Best Place for Kids to Learn After the Coronavirus Pandemic If the Coronavirus quarantine has taught educators one thing, it’s this. Online learning is not better than in-person schooling . After all these years of corporations throwing apps at us and well-meaning administrators providing us with devices and philanthrocapitalists pumping billions of dollars into ed tech f

by Mike Simpson / 7d

Big Education Ape TOP POSTS THIS WEEK 5/9/20 ‘Slaying Goliath’: Diane Ravitch argues in new book that public education advocates have beat back efforts to privatize schools - The Washington Post The real story of New Orleans and its charter schools - The Washington Post COVID-19 "CA